Moscow accuses Israel of ‘gross violation’ of international law

An Israeli strike on Beirut that damaged a hospital is “unacceptable,” the Russian Foreign Ministry has said

The bombing of Beirut by Israel this week breaches the very basic rules of international law and risks sparking a major conflict in the Middle East, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Earlier, West Jerusalem confirmed a targeted attack on a Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese capital.

The strike hit a residential area near one of Beirut’s biggest hospitals, the ministry’s deputy spokesman, Andrey Nastasyin, told journalists during a briefing in Moscow. Several people, including a woman and two children were killed in the strike, which left the hospital “badly damaged” and more than 80 people injured, he said.

“We consider it unacceptable to carry out such military operations, particularly in the densely populated areas, that risk massive civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure,” the diplomat said.

Israeli actions are nothing but a “gross violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and basic norms of international law,” the deputy spokesman stated. He also warned that the incident could further stir up tensions in the region and urged all the sides to exercise maximum restraint in the wake of the attack.

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According to the diplomat, no Russian citizens were injured in the attack. He also called on the Russian nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon in the wake of the developments.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strike on Tuesday and said that it targeted the Hezbollah commander responsible for a missile attack on a village in the Golan Heights that occurred last Saturday.

Twelve people died in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, mostly children, when a rocket hit a football pitch. West Jerusalem blamed the incident on Hezbollah, adding that the group had “crossed the red line” with this strike. The Lebanon-based Shia militant group denied responsibility but warned that it would respond to any Israeli strike.

Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging rocket and drone strikes for months amid West Jerusalem’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which led to a spike in tensions between Israel and the Lebanon-based group as well. The cross-border attacks had led to the evacuation of almost 200,000 residents on both sides of the border.

West Jerusalem has repeatedly threatened a military operation against Hezbollah. In June, President Isaac Herzog said that the group’s “terrorist aggression must be stopped.”